Path to pollution and carbon reduction synergy from the perspective of the digital economy: Fresh evidence from 292 prefecture-level cities in China.

The digital economy is a crucial focus for realizing the transformation of old and new kinetic energy in China. It is widely integrated with various fields of the economy and society, constantly providing a new dynamic mechanism with synergetic control of environmental pollution and carbon emissions (SCEPCE). Based on panel data from 292 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this study discusses the spatial effects and mechanisms of the digital economy on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. The study found that: (1) The digital economy has direct and indirect influences on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. The digital economy can drive reductions in pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions by upgrading industrial structures and transforming energy structures. (2) Green innovation plays an active regulatory role in the digital economy and structural optimization, particularly in the context of SCEPCE. This interference helps mitigate the impact of the digital economy on pollution and carbon emissions. (3) The digital economy has a significant spatial spillover effect on the coordinated control of pollutants and carbon emissions. (4) The influence mechanism of the digital economy on pollution reduction and carbon reduction synergy exhibits geographical heterogeneity, resource endowment heterogeneity. To enhance the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, it is essential to bolster support and optimise the digital economy at various levels. This includes reinforcing regional balance, considering spatial spillover effects, and enhancing the leading role of developed cities in the region.

Green innovation and natural resource efficiency: The role of environmental regulations and resource endowment in Chinese cities.

Achieving natural resource utilization efficiency (NRUE) is a critical objective in addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and the risks associated with the finite availability of mineral resources. Enhancing NRUE can mitigate environmental impacts and support sustainable development for future generations. In this context, green innovation emerges as a pivotal driver of environmental sustainability and resource conservation. However, its potential role in advancing the NRUE has not been fully explored. To fill this gap, this study conducts an empirical analysis of 268 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2022, examining the impact of green innovation on NRUE. This study also incorporates the mediating role of environmental regulations in shaping this impact. The findings demonstrate that green innovation significantly enhances NRUE, primarily by facilitating industrial structural upgrading and reducing resource dependence. Additionally, environmental regulations strengthen the positive effects of green innovation, further amplifying its contribution to NRUE. Moreover, geographical location and differences in resource endowments among cities lead to variations in the effectiveness of green innovation on NRUE. These findings underscore the complex interplay between green technological progress, proactive government policies, and NRUE, offering valuable insights for policymakers and researchers alike.

Can carbon emission trading policy break China's urban carbon lock-in?

Greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil energy are the main drivers of global warming. China's dominant consumption of fossil energy necessitates adjustments in its energy consumption structure to break free from the carbon lock-in (CLI) phenomenon. Market-based environmental regulations, represented by the carbon trading market (CTM), play an important role in achieving the dual carbon goals of China. Using panel data of 270 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2020, this study applies a difference-in-difference model to identify the effect of CTM on urban CLI, analyze its transmission mechanism, and further examine the impact of urban characteristic heterogeneity on policy effects from multiple perspectives. Results show that the construction of CTM significantly reduces the degree of CLI of pilot cities; (2) CTM mainly affects urban CLI by promoting urban green technology innovation, industrial structure upgrading, and public green behavior; and (3) the inhibitory effect of CTM on CLI is more significant in cities with high carbon price, industrialization, and digital finance levels. The primary paths toward realizing carbon unlocking include optimizing the institutional design for CTM, enhancing the effective promotion and application of low-carbon technologies, cultivating the green awareness of the public, and increasing government investments in energy-saving and emission reduction techniques.

How does digital finance affect industrial structure upgrading? Evidence from Chinese prefecture-level cities.

Digital finance is playing an increasingly prominent role in economic development. This paper examines the impact of digital finance on industrial structure upgrading based on panel data from 289 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2020. The paper adopts fixed effects, mediating effects, and spatial econometric models and the findings are as follows. First, digital finance development significantly boosts industrial structure upgrading in Chinese cities. The evidence remains valid after various robustness tests. Second, digital finance and industrial structure upgrading exhibit positive spatial spillover effects. Third, digital finance indirectly affects industrial structure upgrading through innovation, entrepreneurship and the structure of household consumption channels. Fourth, the influence of digital finance is more significant in cities with more developed economies, less financialization and lower income inequality. Finally, among the sub-indicators of digital finance, the breadth of coverage plays the most significant role, inspiring policymakers and financial institutions to speed up the digitization infrastructure in backward areas.

How does environmental regulation affect industrial structure upgrading? Evidence from prefecture-level cities in China.

This study examines whether and how environmental regulation affects industrial structure upgrading with a panel data of 270 cities between 2006 and 2019. We first adopt two indicators-rationalization and advancement-to quantify industrial structure upgrading and then use kernel density estimation as well as trend surface analysis to investigate these indicators' spatial-temporal pattern. With a spatial Durbin model, we find that environmental regulation has inverted U-shaped and U-shaped direct impacts on rationalization and advancement, and inverted U-shaped indirect impacts on both rationalization and advancement in neighboring regions. Moreover, our subsample tests demonstrate that environmental regulation has various impacts on industrial structure upgrading in different regions. Last, a mediating effect analysis shows that technological innovation is an important path for environmental regulation to promote advancement. Our study provides new evidence for the Porter hypothesis, and offers suggestions for the authorities to formulate and optimize environmental regulation intensity.

New urbanization construction and city economic resilience-based on multi-period DID tests for 278 cities.

As a key measure to realize Chinese-style modernization, the construction of new urbanization injects new vitality into China 's urban economic growth by building a modern industrial system, and it is also of great significance to improve urban economic resilience. This study examines data from 278 Chinese cities spanning the period 2006-2022, utilizing a multi-period Difference-in-Differences model and a moderating effect model to investigate the impact of new urbanization on cities' economic resilience. The findings indicate that the adoption of modern urbanization significantly enhances cities' economic resilience. Notably, when examined from the perspectives of geographical location, urban scale, urban agglomeration, and urban economic development level, the impact of new urbanization is particularly pronounced in the eastern region, small cities, non-urban agglomeration cities, and cities with lower levels of economic development. The mechanism test demonstrates that new urbanization affects cities' economic resilience by fostering technological innovation and upgrading the industrial structure. Essentially, technological innovation and industrial restructuring serve as intermediaries in fortifying economic resilience through the implementation of new urbanization. As a result, recommendations are formulated to bolster the resilience of urban economies.

The impact of poverty alleviation policy on the industrial structure: Evidence from the Qinba Mountain contiguous poverty-stricken areas.

In 2015, the Chinese government issued the Decision on Poverty Alleviation(DPA), requiring poverty-stricken areas to develop local characteristic industries based on their resource endowments, to promote industrial structure diversification and industrial structure upgrading through industry-driven poverty alleviation. However, existing research lacks empirical analysis to evaluate it. Therefore, this paper takes poor counties in the Qinba Mountain contiguous poverty-stricken areas(QMCPA) as an example, using the difference in difference model and boundary effect model to evaluate whether DPA has promoted industrial structure upgrading and industrial structure diversification in poor counties. The results show that the DPA has promoted industrial structure upgrading and improved industrial structure diversification in the QMCPA. However, the effectiveness of it is not sufficient. Poor counties have failed to maintain the policy requirement of developing characteristic industries based on local natural resource endowments, leading to a decline in the degree of industrial structure diversification in the later period of the policy. This study indicates that local governments should strive to develop advantageous industries and form a division of labor and cooperation with neighboring areas, strengthen inter-regional cooperation and contact, and enhance anti-risk capabilities to avoid homogenized competition. Studying the changes in industrial structure in the QMCPA has important significance for the long-term stable development and poverty elimination of various poor areas.

Analysis of the impact factors of industrial structure upgrading on green total factor productivity from the perspective of spatial spillover effects.

Green development has already been a vital part of China's high-quality economic progress in the future, and accelerating the restructuring and improvement of the industrial structure plays a crucial roll in promoting a regional green economy. In this article, based on the data of 278 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2020, the SBM directional distance function and Malmquist-Luenberger (ML) index are used to gauge regional green total factor productivity (GTFP). The spatial Durbin model is also introduced to investigate the spatial spillover mechanism of GTFP and its influencing factors under the optimized and upgraded industrial structure. The study indicates that the optimization of the industrial structure have an important effect in promoting the growth of GTFP. Specifically, industrial structure integration has a greater bearing on the increase in GTFP, while there is a difference in the effectiveness of industrial structural advancement and rationalization of GTFP. Economic growth level inhibits the enhancement of GTFP, and urbanization level and industrial agglomeration have a significant negative impact on the enhancement of GTFP in the spatial dimension. On a different hand, foreign investment degree and government intervention level have a significant positive affect on regional GTFP. In addition, this study fills the research gap of the regional industrial structure upgrading influence on GTFP, which has great theory and practice value for promoting China's high quality growth of green economy.

The impact of digital infrastructure on provincial green innovation efficiency-empirical evidence from China.

In the epoch of the digital economy, technological innovation and energy conservation are significantly facilitated by digital infrastructure, leading to substantial improvements in green innovation efficiency at the provincial level. This study employed the feasible generalized least square (FGLS) method to examine the effects of digital infrastructure on the green innovation efficiency across 30 provinces in the Chinese mainland, utilizing panel data from 2011 to 2020. Additionally, this investigation delves into the intervening role of industrial structure upgrading and the amplifying effects of environmental regulation and human capital on the process. Findings indicate that, to begin with, digital infrastructure contributes to the meaningful enhancement of green innovation efficiency within provinces. Subsequently, the industrial structure upgrading partially mediates the impact of digital infrastructure on the efficiency of provincial green innovation. Lastly, both human capital and environmental regulations amplify the beneficial influence of digital infrastructure on the effectiveness of green innovation at the provincial level. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms through which digital infrastructure boosts green innovation efficiency, aiding policymakers in formulating appropriate policies to augment digital infrastructure, thereby promoting provincial green innovation efficiency.

The impact of environmental regulations on the upgrading of the industrial structure: Evidence from China.

China's economy has transitioned into a phase of high-quality development, with enhancing its industrial structure becoming a critical objective. We gathered panel data from 30 major provinces in China from 2010 to 2020 and employed the fixed effects model to assess the actual influence of environmental regulations on industrial structure upgrading. Our empirical findings show that the impacts of various environmental regulations on industrial structure upgrading in China are significantly different. Mandatory environmental regulation demonstrates an inverted U-shaped nonlinear correlation with the upgrading level of the entire industrial structure. When the intensity of this regulation is low, it significantly accelerates industrial structure upgrading. As the intensity of this regulation rises, its effect on industrial structure upgrading is inhibitory. In contrast, induced environmental regulation exhibits a nonlinear U-shaped relationship with industrial structure upgrading and shows a nonlinear change trend of first decreasing and then rising. When the intensity of induced environmental regulation reaches a certain critical point and continues to increase, it will change from a negative influence on the upgrading of the industrial structure to a promoting effect. The further discussion of threshold regression and the robustness test also led to similar conclusions. The above research is conducive to the Chinese government's rational use of environmental regulation tools to promote industrial structure upgrading. It is also beneficial to developing countries, allowing them to learn from China's experience to improve the effectiveness of environmental regulation and boost their industrial development.

Does green credit help reduce smog pollution? Empirical evidence from China.

As a resource production factor in environmental governance activities, can green credit help reduce smog pollution? Based on China's provincial panel data from 2006 to 2019, this paper empirically tests the impact of green credit on smog pollution by using an OLS regression model and a spatial Durbin model. The results show that green credit helps to reduce smog pollution overall; Industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation are two critical paths for green credit to reduce smog pollution. The analysis of period heterogeneity finds that the descending effect of green credit on smog pollution becomes more significant after the transformation of China's economic development stage. The regional heterogeneity analysis finds that the descending effect of green credit on smog pollution is more significant in non-low-carbon pilot provinces and regions with lower economic development levels. In addition, green credit not only helps to reduce local smog pollution but also has a spatial spillover effect of "benefiting thy neighbors" on smog pollution in geographically neighboring areas. This study provides important inspiration for the government to further promote the innovation of green financial instruments and promote the improvement of environmental governance performance, provides decision-making references for different regions to implement differentiated green credit strategies to improve ambient air quality, and provides an experience reference for the development of green finance and environmental governance in emerging market countries.

Environmental regulation, land use efficiency and industrial structure upgrading: Test analysis based on spatial durbin model and threshold effect.

Environmental regulation promotes industrial structure change and regional economic transformation through land use adjustment, which gets a new way to explore the path of reforming traditional industrialization and urbanization. Based on the panel data of 128 prefecture-level cities in China 's Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses the spatial Dubin model to analyze the impact of environmental regulation and land use efficiency on the upgrading of industrial structure, and sets the panel threshold model to examine the impact of environmental regulation on the upgrading of industrial structure by affecting land use efficiency. The results show that formal environmental regulation has a significant positive spatial effect on the rationalization and upgrading of industrial structure, which are 0.1734 and 0.2854 respectively. Informal environmental regulation has a negative spillover effect on neighboring provinces but not significant. Heterogeneous environmental regulation has obvious "double threshold effect" on industrial upgrading by affecting land use efficiency. When the threshold of environmental regulation intensity is 0.0315-0.0886, environmental regulation still inhibits land use efficiency and industrial structure upgrading. When the threshold value is greater than 0.0886, environmental regulation has a positive impact on land use efficiency but not significant. With the intensity of environmental regulation from weak to strong, it will produce a double threshold effect of "strong inhibition-weak inhibition-interaction promotion" on the upgrading of manufacturing structure through the adjustment of land use efficiency.

Heterogeneity effects of environmental regulation policy synergy on ecological resilience: considering the moderating role of industrial structure.

Given the great importance attached to ecological civilization and green development, exploring the heterogeneous effects of environmental regulation policy synergy on ecological resilience holds significance for improving environmental protection and the design of environmental policies. Based on the policy synergy perspective, this paper uses 30 provinces (municipalities and autonomous) in China as the research sample. Bayesian quantile regression is employed to explore the heterogeneous effects of environmental regulation policy synergy on ecological resilience from 2007 to 2021, and the moderating effect of the industrial structure is examined. The results indicate the following: (1) there is significant heterogeneity and variability in the effect of environmental regulation policy synergy on ecological resilience. Specifically, the effects of policy mixes 12, 13, and 23 on ecological resilience shows a U-shaped trend, while the impact of policy mix 123 on ecological resilience shows a positive effect. (2) There are significant differences in the effects of environmental regulation policy synergy under different quantiles of ecological resilience. Taking policy mix 12 as an example, we find that the effect of policy synergy on ecological resilience tends to decrease and then increase at a lower quantile. Additionally, the effect of policy synergy on ecological resilience tends to be positive at a higher quantile. (3) There are significant differences in the moderating effects of the industrial structure. Policy mix 12 can effectively enhance ecological resilience through industrial structure upgrading, while the moderating effects of alternative policy combinations are deemed insufficient. Finally, relevant policy recommendations are proposed to effectively improve ecological resilience.

Re-evaluating the impact and mechanism of digital economy on regional pollution intensity from the perspective of spatial spillover.

Based on the panel data of 259 cities across China from 2011 to 2019, the study investigates the long-run impact of digital economy on regional pollution intensity by employing multiple models. The estimation results reveal that (1) the relatively heavily polluted areas are concentrated in the north, especially in the northeast of China; the overall pollution intensity is decreasing year by year at the national level; (2) the development of digital economy can significantly contribute to the reduction of regional pollution intensity and it has a statistically significant negative spatial spillover effect on the pollution intensity of neighboring cities; (3) mechanism analysis shows that the development of digital economy not only has a direct effect on the reduction of pollution intensity but also promotes the reduction through the channel of industrial structure upgrading and green technology progress; (4) the results of threshold model suggest that as the level of development of the digital economy increases, its marginal inhibitory effect of promoting the decrease in pollution intensity will diminish; (5) heterogeneity analysis shows that the development of digital economy makes the strongest marginal contribution to pollution intensity reduction in the northeast region. Finally, the conclusions remain valid after controlling for exogenous shocks such as "smart city" policy, various robustness, and endogeneity tests.

How does the digital economy affect the provincial "zero-waste city" construction? Evidence from China.

The digital economy is playing a crucial effect in the field of environmental governance. Digital and intelligent management is an essential means to fully realize the "zero-waste city" construction. The present paper investigates the impact of digital economy on China's provincial "zero-waste city" construction. The results indicate that digital economy can contribute to "zero-waste city" construction. The digital economy has a positive nonlinear effect on the construction of "zero-waste city," but the marginal effect is diminishing. The digital economy can facilitate "zero-waste city" construction by improving industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital economy contributes to the construction of "zero-waste city" in the eastern and western regions and high-level environmental regulation regions, while this impact is insignificant in the central region and low-level environmental regulation regions. The digital economy exerts the most significant positive influence on waste resource recycling followed by waste final disposal and then waste reduction at the source. These findings underscore the effect of digital economy in fostering "zero-waste city" construction and promoting sustainable waste management. The present study provides new ideas for the "zero-waste city" construction in emerging developing countries such as China.

The impact of intellectual property demonstration policies on carbon emission efficiency.

Confronted with the concurrent challenges of economic advancement and environmental management, this study explores whether implementing Intellectual Property Demonstration Policies (IPDP) can be a covert force in enhancing carbon emission efficiency. Utilizing panel data from 280 prefecture-level cities in China over the period 2007-2019, we employ a quasi-natural experimental design, incorporating multiple-period difference-in-differences models, mediation effect models, and spatial Durbin difference-in-differences models to assess the impacts of IPDP on carbon emission efficiency, its mechanisms of action, and its spatial spillover effects. The regression results of the multi-period difference-in-differences model reveal a statistically significant enhancement in carbon emission efficiency due to IPDP, with an impact coefficient of 0.044. Through heterogeneity tests, it is observed that the influence of IPDP on carbon emission efficiency varies based on regional characteristics, carbon emission levels, and the extent of marketization. The mediation effect model demonstrates that IPDP enhances carbon emission efficiency by fostering green technological innovation and facilitating the transformation of industrial structures. Furthermore, the spatial Durbin difference-in-differences model illustrates that IPDP positively influences the carbon emission efficiency of neighboring regions, indicating favorable spatial spillover effects. Notably, the indirect effect coefficients in the geographical distance matrix, economic distance matrix, and economic-geographical nested matrix are calculated as 0.673, 0.250, and 0.386, respectively. These findings offer compelling theoretical and empirical support for strengthening the intellectual property framework to optimize its environmental impact.

A tripartite game analysis of industrial structure upgrading and green development of regional economy: A case study of Shanxi Province, China.

In the contemporary context, both the upgrading of the industrial structure and the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices within the regional economy have emerged as central avenues for achieving quality development. This study examines the strategic behavior of local governments, capital, and people through the construction of a tripartite evolutionary game model. Subsequently, six different evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) are subjected to a comprehensive analysis. Finally, the parameters influencing the strategic decisions of each party are meticulously examined through simulation. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: First, it is shown that under appropriate conditions, all three entities support the scenario of stable development prospects associated with industrial structure upgrading (1, 1, 1). Second, the strategic choices made by capital and people depend on several factors, including existing profits, future benefits, and the costs associated with transformation. At the same time, local governments show a propensity to adopt incentive strategies. Ultimately, the research underscores the pronounced impact of future benefits, transformation costs, and the probability of success in industrial upgrading on all stakeholders, shaping their evolutionary trajectories and results. In particular, the probability of successful industrial structure upgrading exerts the greatest influence on evolutionary trajectories, while the possibility of government imposing carbon taxes and initial willingness primarily determine the evolutionary trajectory. This paper attempts to provide a new perspective on industrial structure upgrading and green development of the regional economy by combining evolutionary game theory and scenario analysis methods to promote the process of industrial structure upgrading and sustainable development.

Analysis of modern circulation industry development level using industrial structure mechanism.

This study focuses on China's industrial transformation and urban income inequality. It is shown that between 2011 and 2020, improvements in China's industrial structure have a significant positive influence on lowering income gaps between urban and rural areas when used in conjunction with the empirical research approach. The mechanical study shows that the urban population impacts this causation. Rural-to-urban economic gaps have been reduced through modernisation in different parts of the country. The result remains the same even if the urban-rural consumption gap is used as a proxy for income discrepancy. The mechanism for the industrial structure upgrading model (MISUM) is proposed in this article for the modern circulation industry. Key contributions include: (1) environmental rules in these components have no impact on each other, but the updating of industrial buildings indicates a substantial location-specific dependence; (2) environmental standards have impacts on industrial structures throughout provinces; and (3) environmental standards have a long-term qualifying impact on the industrial structures. This essay focuses on combining environmental regulation with industrial expansion in different regions. In this study, government environmental requirements for industrial structural improvements are shown to be in operation. The test results show the MISUM has been described with high accuracy of 94.2%, carbon emission level of 18%, soil emission level of 11% and efficiency ratio of 97.8% compared to other methods.

Can the digital economy improve green total factor productivity? An empirical study based on Chinese urban data.

With the new generation of technological revolution, the digital economy has progressively become a key driver of global economic development. In this context, how to promote green economic growth and improve green total factor productivity (GTFP) with the help of the digital economy is an important issue that urgently needs empirical research. We adopted the panel data of 278 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2020 to test whether the digital economy improves the GTFP through the Gaussian Mixed Model (GMM) dynamic panel model. The moderating effect model has been used to explore the impact mechanism from the perspectives of industrial structure upgrade and environmental regulation. In addition, a grouping regression was applied to the sample cities to test the heterogeneous impact of the digital economy on the GTFP. Based upon the empirical findings, this work has the following conclusions. First, the digital economy plays a significant role in improving the GTFP. Second, an industrial structure upgrade has a positive moderating effect on the ability of the digital economy to enhance the GTFP. The environmental regulation, in contrast, has a negative moderating effect. Third, the digital economy exerts heterogeneous impacts on the GTFP across regions, but not at the city level.

Fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and carbon emissions: evidence from China.

The debate over the role of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in China's environmental governance has received increasing attention. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2019, this paper investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading on carbon emissions to provide empirical evidence for the above theoretical argument. The results show that fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are negatively correlated with carbon emissions, while the interaction term for fiscal decentralization with industrial structure upgrading presents a facilitating effect on carbon emissions. Besides, fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and the interaction term have significant regional heterogeneity on carbon emissions. When fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are taken as threshold variables, the effects of industrial structure upgrading and fiscal decentralization are significantly nonlinear. Moreover, environmental regulation, transportation infrastructure, and carbon emissions are positively correlated. There exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, which proves environmental Kuznets curve theorem. However, FDI and urbanization have no significant effect on carbon emissions. According to the above conclusions, it is necessary to strengthen the positive interaction between fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in mitigating carbon emissions, promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of China's economy, thus realizing the goals of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality."